In My Brother's Shadow
by ConsumedByTheShadows
Summary: Luigi is tired of staying home to watch the house as Mario saves the princess time and time again. He decides to get involved when Mario doesn't turn up after the castle is uprooted. How will this well known adventure turn out with the help of another plumber? -Takes place during the first Paper Mario game.
1. Chapter 1: My Irritating Brother

Chapter 1: My Irritating Brother

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Mario series.

-It's rated higher due to language.

 _-"This means that someone is thinking."_

 **-'This means that someone is reading something'**

As I woke up in my bed I thought that maybe today something different would happen. There hasn't been a peep of Bowser in months and I was starting to worry about what the long absence of the Koopa King means in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the time of peace, but this long term 'vacation' from an evil plot is nothing short of a miracle. The princess is usually kidnapped once in every two months, so I guess it could happen at any time now.

I climb down from my bottom bunk before getting dressed. I then turned to look at my older brother. His light snoring is the only noise that's filling the silence. I shake my head before walking out of the bedroom to make myself some breakfast. In a short time I was sitting at the table with a plate of eggs and toast, and drinking my morning cup of cappuccino. I heard the first postman deliver the daily newspaper on time so I stretched before standing up to go grab it.

Sitting back down in my chair, I take my time reading the news while nibbling on a piece of toast. _"It looks like trouble might be happening sooner than I thought."_ I continued reading the article that was on the front page. **'It has come to our attention that suspicious people have been spotted travelling throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Take caution on your travels in the case that our fears might become true.'** _"Wow this might actually be more serious than I thought. I wonder why it's so vague though."_ My train of thought was interrupted by my previously sleeping brother.

With a loud yawn Mario attempted to roll onto his side and climb down the ladder only to crash onto the floor since his grip slipped in his half asleep state. He jumped up from his position on the ground before placing his comforter back on his bed. Without a word to me he stumbled into the bathroom. Upon his return he seemed a little less asleep and plopped down onto his chair. I simply continued perusing the newspaper while finishing my small breakfast.

It's been mostly silent in this house for a while now, not that it looks like Mario cares. It doesn't seem like he noticed that I've been progressively talking to him less. At this point I only speak to him if he's talking to me or if something directly concerns him. I don't know if he knows that I'm pretty pissed off at him these days. I know that he doesn't talk much, but he should know by now that I'm not like that. I'm usually a chatterbox around the people that I'm familiar with. The fact that he hasn't shown any concern for my recent behavior only seals the deal that he's being an ass.

As soon as I ate my food I slowly washed my dishes before drying them and putting them away. The sound of the second postman came not a second too soon and served as a distraction for the green clad plumber. "I'll get it," I muttered before walking out the door. Our secluded front yard greeted my sight as I inhaled the fresh air. I smiled to myself at feeling the warm sun hit me while a gentle breeze prevented me from getting too hot. I got the mail and noticed that one of the letters was a bright pink color. There was a royal seal on the back that cemented the fact that this letter was for Mario and me. I noted that my name was hastily scrawled on the envelope while Mario's was perfectly written as if I was a last minute thought. Scowling at the slight offense I trudged back into our house. "Hey bro, Peach sent us a letter." Mario was instantly awake at my statement.

He looked eagerly at me as I tore the envelope open and gently tugged the lightly perfumed letter out of it. I read it before saying, "She's inviting us to her latest party that she's hosting today. It looks like a lot of people throughout the kingdom are attending. Seems like it's a little late to be telling us this right?" I handed the letter to him before taking a seat as well. He visibly lifted the paper to his nose and sniffed the letter before reading it for himself. _"Ugh… Why would you sniff it? I really wish I didn't see that."_ He looks up at me and says, "So what it's not like we had anything planned today." I frowned at his flippant response before walking to the front door again.

 _"Maybe you didn't, but that doesn't mean that I didn't have plans."_ I grumbled to myself as I left the confines of our home. I still had some shopping to do, as well as visit some people before the event now. _"At least there are a few hours before the party officially begins."_ With that in mind I hopped onto the warp pipe and popped up at the entrance to Toad Town.

I noticed instantly that the town was bustling with activity this morning. _"It's probably because everyone's just excited for the tourists to be visiting."_ I have no doubt that the shopkeepers are trying to spruce up their stores in the hopes that more people will be drawn to them. I looked to my side and saw that the florists are also hard at work and are transplanting some new flowers to brighten the town. I chuckled at their antics before reaching my first destination.

The only grocery store in town was quite nice seeing as it was used by the princess herself. Well it's usually one of her attendants instead of her that shops here. If Peach was in the shop on her own then it most likely means that she was in the mood to bake. I walked down the aisles and looked at my list. **'Tomatoes, pasta, broccoli, musk melon, grapes, milk, soap, laundry detergent'** I was thankful that the list wasn't too long seeing that I had a time limit now.

I quickly gathered the needed items and made my way to the checkout counter. There was only one till open, but the line wasn't too long this early in the morning. _"I'm sure that it will be bustling around lunch time. The visitors will all be walking in around then. I doubt that they all plan on leaving right after the party today either. It's most likely going to run until late at night since Peach usually has a firework show at her parties."_ I shrugged to myself before placing my items in front of the cashier and paid for them.

I walked back to the house and placed the groceries in their spots before looking around at the empty place. It was weird not seeing Mario in here considering that he said that he didn't have any plans. I narrowed my eyes as an irritating thought came to mind. _"Nah, he wouldn't have gone without me."_ I looked around the room before retracting my previous thought. _"It wouldn't be the first time that he left without me though."_ I frowned before I walked out of the house once more.


	2. Chapter 2: Warning Of A Crisis

Chapter 2: Warning of a crisis

 **Author Note:** I wrote this story to take a slightly different approach to the first Paper Mario game. I wondered recently why Mario was so distant with the townspeople that were only minutes away from his house. It didn't look like he interacted with any of them despite their close proximity. It's safe to say that while most people know of Mario, they don't know him on a personal level. Maybe he's training all of the time to make sure that he's always ready for a fight? Or maybe he just isn't very sociable and only hangs out with Peach, Luigi, and Toadsworth. Either way it bugs me.

So with that in mind wouldn't it be plausible for Luigi to know more about the people of Toad Town if he was forced to stay back and watch the house instead of going off on adventures all the time? With the princess being kidnapped and Mario gone to save her for days, weeks, or maybe even months at a time he wouldn't be able to socialize with them a lot. I doubt that Luigi intended to literally stay in the house every time Mario went on an adventure. He probably went off and made some friends while he was left alone to watch over their property. With that idea this story started to take shape.

 **Disclaimer:** Same as the first one.

-Also I included Goompa in the fishing group that Goompapa has.

I looked at my wrist watch after coming out of the warp pipe once again, only to notice that it was almost 11:30 a.m. Cursing to myself, I realized that I wouldn't have enough time to go fishing with the guys today. _"I guess visiting Goompa and the rest of the guys will have to wait 'till another day."_ Usually we would all get together a little bit after lunch and chat before heading to a fishing hole for a few hours every weekend. Since there wasn't a way for me to transport myself to his place instantly I settled for writing him a letter. I told him that there was a last minute party at the royal castle that we didn't know about until this morning.

" _He's definitely going to be mad at me for a while now… Well at least until I give him his favorite dessert."_ I vowed to myself to make him a chocolate cake with strawberries on top for him whenever I next got a chance to visit. With my letter completed I handed it to the receptionist at the post office and made my way to one of my old friends. Merlon's house was only a minute away from the post office, so there was plenty of time to talk to him.

I stood in front of his house and admired the spinning roof that went around constantly. Then I stepped onto the welcome mat and lifted a secret panel before pressing the button that lies beneath it. A relaxing song was let loose from the doorbell as I put the panel back in its place. It only took a few seconds before the sound of someone walking towards the door reached my ears. The door slowly opened before a hooded figure came into view. Only his glowing yellow eyes and the lower half of his face was visible through the darkness. I smiled and gave a small wave before he opened the door fully and physically pulled me into his house.

I was pulled into a tight hug before we both broke apart with grins on our faces. "Luigi long time no see." He stepped back a little further and awaited my reply. "Hey Merlon. Knowing you, I bet you already knew when I'd be stopping by." He chuckled at my joke before saying, "Actually I did. I decided to take a glimpse at the future today since I've been getting some bad vibes lately. When I read the newspaper this morning I thought it would be important to make sure nothing too horrible would happen. The only problem was that most of what I did see was very vague."

We both frowned as we thought about what that could mean for everyone in the kingdom. "Now what can I do for you?" I smiled and said that I just wanted to visit him before leaving for the party today. "Really? It's today? Hmmm…" The way he trailed off was making me nervous. "Is there something wrong Merlon?" He shook his head before dismissing his thoughts. "It's probably nothing, but make sure to be on your guard for anything odd, okay?"

I nodded in acceptance before Merlon pushed a switch that was underneath his chair. An opening appeared in the floor that led down into his living room. I followed him in as usual so we could continue to catch up with each other. We both sat down and talked for around half an hour before I stood up and stretched. "I think I should make my way towards the castle pretty soon." He stood up as well and we briefly hugged again before I made my way over to his front door.

"Don't forget to be cautious today Luigi. I've got a very bad feeling that the party might not go as planned." I told him that I'd be careful and proceeded to leave his house. With nothing else planned for the day, I made my way to the large gate that led to the royal castle. I slightly pushed on one of the doors and marveled over the fact that they automatically swung open for me.

I laughed to myself as I thought that maybe there are guards watching everyone through a camera and they decide who gets to enter and leave. _"That must be a boring job to have if it's true. Not many people come and go to the castle unless there are major events planned. I'll have to ask Peach if she set up a security system. That would be a good idea to invest in if she hasn't already done so."_

I was surprised at the immediate change in sound after the doors shut after me. There were many different people that have gathered here today for one of Peach's famous parties. _"She really does know how to throw a good one."_ I saw that while there were many guests on the grounds there were also a few guards that were walking through the area. _"It's good that she is starting to take her safety seriously these days."_ I wandered the front yard of the castle and waved at a few of the guards before I headed inside the front door.

The inside of the castle was even more packed than the outside was. While the weather is nice today, being outside isn't as exciting when there are amazing dishes of free food for the guests. Not to mention that there's a high chance for you to meet the princess for yourself if you enter through the front door. The people were even more diverse than before in here. There were goombas, koopas, shy guys, bob-ombs, toads, bumpties, and even more kinds still.

I walked around not really knowing any of these people until I came across one of the tables that were serving various kinds of food. There were too many choices to pick from for a meal, let alone the large amount of sweets for afterwards. The sheer amount of desserts filled the same amount of tables that the rest of the food took up. _"Peach probably had a hand in that."_ I decided to not even take a look at the sweets until I ate a proper meal first.

I piled a plate full of spaghetti with some berries on the side and grabbed a glass of water. With the amount of people milling around I was surprised to find an open table nearby. Quickly I made my way through the clusters of people and sat down to eat my lunch. A few minutes into my meal I spotted Toadsworth walking my way with a plate of his own in his hands. He made his way to my table before stopping and asking if I would mind if he sat with me.

"No not at all." I smiled at him while I gestured for him to take a seat. He did so with a smile of his own and dug into his meal with gusto. We ate in a comfortable silence before I slowed down in order to chat with him. "So how have you been lately Toadsworth? I bet you were finishing the final touches on the party this morning." He chuckled a bit before putting his utensils down.

"That I was Luigi. Why, I was scurrying about and fussing over every detail for this party. You know how I get when something doesn't look perfect at an event. So I was rushing about and barking orders like a mad man right up until the first guests arrived. Thankfully we got the things that needed to be done the most first. I shudder to think of how the guests would react if we didn't provide them with the basic necessities such as food and drink." The funny thing was that he did shudder at that thought.

I hid the small smile that I was sporting and the laugh that was begging to be let out by drinking some of my water. Not long after that I noticed another guest walking towards our table. He was a bumpty by the looks of it and the hat that he was wearing looked quite warm and comfortable even from a distance. "Would you mind if I sit here with you two? There aren't many tables left, and I thought you both looked pretty friendly." He gave a hopeful smile towards us while he waited for our decision. Toadsworth and I shook our heads and gestured to the last seat at our table.

"Thanks. You both can call me May. What are your names?" I introduced the two of us, and we then went to casually converse with each other as we finished off our food. May was telling us about the joys of living in Shiver City as a large tremor shook the whole castle. A few plates crashed to the floor and many people began to feel uneasy.

Another tremor larger than the first shook the castle soon after that left many people holding onto each other for balance. "I don't think this is an earthquake you two." To make sure that it wasn't the case I quickly make my way to the front door to have a look outside. The expressions on the faces of the guests who were still outside were worrying. They were all looking at the base of the building in shock. This proved that something was definitely wrong with the castle.

I hurriedly made my way back to our table as another wave went through and pulled May and Toadsworth out of their seats. "We need to get out of here now! Something is wrong with the castle!" I had to yell over the noise of the guests at this point. They both ran by my side as we weaved through the mass of panicking people. The quakes were getting closer together and stronger by the second. "Everyone get out of the castle NOW!" It looked like a few people heard my cry as they quickly followed behind us. We made it out of the castle with little time to spare.

Time slowed down as I saw ten people sprint out of the front doors and stand by us at a safe distance from the now constantly trembling structure. Mere seconds later Peach's castle erupted from the ground, and we all scrambled back even farther away to avoid the falling debris. What shocked us even more was that a larger castle sprung out of the ground underneath the royal building. We stared in horror as the symbol of our kingdom was floating up higher and higher into the atmosphere. It was incredible to think that in less than a minute the entire castle was taken hostage, along with Peach, Mario, and many citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom.

 **Another Note:** I can answer questions or comments from guest reviews at the end of each chapter.

Pikminfan24: More please!

Me: I definitely plan on continuing this story. I don't know how often I'll be able to update it, but I'll continue it for sure.


	3. Chapter 3: The Missing Mario Brother

Chapter 3: The Missing Mario Brother

 **Author Note** **:** Mario and Luigi's last name is Mario.

-There will be a reference to the game called Mario Is Missing!

It's been a sad day for the people living in Toad Town ever since the party was disrupted. Bowser most likely had a hand in the disappearance of Peach, Mario, and many citizens of the kingdom. What made it worse was that the royal castle was probably being used as a prison seeing as it floated off into the clouds far above what the normal eye can see. The people were in a panic at this new situation, and most of the locals holed themselves up in their homes for their safety. It wasn't uncommon for towns to be attacked by Bowser's minions so that they can keep control over a territory, and the Toad people knew that far too well.

The citizens were used to the princess being kidnapped every so often, but the red clad plumber was always a short way from Toad Town if it ever happened. With Mario missing in action it caused far more stress than there would have been if he were still here. They didn't know what happened to the people who were kidnapped, and there wasn't any further news concerning the incident that happened yesterday. No one seemed to know anything about how or why the castle was uprooted other than to catch the princess once again. The people were mostly shocked that Bowser's plan involved other innocent people along with the princess with his latest scheme. If this detail is different, then what else could be in store for the citizens of the Mushroom kingdom?

-Back to Luigi's POV-

I woke up from my unsettling dream with a start and glanced around the room in a panicked state. The walls of my home greeted my vision and I let out a relieved sigh at the familiar sight. I sat up and looked down at my lap as the memories of what happened a day ago surged through me. Yesterday was a complete disaster with the castle taken hostage with many guests of the kingdom still inside. Mario didn't miraculously arrive at their house later in the day like I hoped he would. The princess is still kidnapped and morale is at an all time low in Toad Town. I clenched my fists at the thought that I couldn't do anything to help prevent the incident from occurring.

Once we escaped from the castle I told everyone to follow me. I didn't want anyone to stay close to the castle grounds in the case that objects could fall and severely injure people. We made it through the automatic doors without any problems and continued on. I stopped near the fountain that was closest to the main entrance of the town. The area was void of people aside from us. I looked at everyone that had made it out of the castle and noticed that no one had any major injuries.

"Hello everyone." My voice cut through the silence of the area like a knife. "I know what we went through was shocking. No one has literally hijacked an entire castle before, at least that I know of. However, we have made it out relatively unscathed. We were lucky to escape the castle in time, and I'm proud that we were able to make it out before the castle was too high for us to leave." Toadsworth, May, and the others smiled slightly at that statement.

"I'm going to be honest here." I cleared my throat before continuing. "We have little to no information regarding what just happened to us. Most of the signs point to Bowser being the mastermind behind this plan, but we need to make sure that this is the case. We need more info, and the only way to do that is to keep our eyes and ears open."

"If Bowser is the enemy again then we need to stay safe on our travels. Travel in groups of three or more to stay safe. He's already taken hostages and we don't want to add more to that list." Most of the people nodded in agreement while gaining determined expressions on their faces. Toadsworth spoke up once I finished my speech.

"Those of you that have traveled to come here, I am deeply sorry. This was never meant to happen, and I regret that your stay here was filled with danger. I implore that you stay at our Toad House so that you all can recover from this terrible ordeal. It will be a safe place to rest at for the rest of your stay here." Multiple people nodded in agreement at that since it was the most logical thing to do for right now. "As for the rest of you, I hope that you take precautions and get home safely. If any rubble from the castle has blocked the roads to your homes, then know that you can stay in the Toad House as well."

The majority of the citizens left to check into the Toad House or attempt to get back home, while May and Toadsworth stayed with me next to the fountain. I sat heavily down onto the ledge of the fountain and let out a sigh of frustration. "It'll be tough Luigi, but we can get through this. It isn't the first time that a crisis has endangered our kingdom." I looked up at Toadsworth before looking down at my feet once more.

"This isn't the same though… Mario has only ever been caught up in a kidnapping one other time, and that was a nightmare." _"So much fucking traveling was done across our home world… It was tedious, didn't make much sense, and had so many Peach lookalikes that it was disturbing."_ I looked up to see May looking at me in confusion while Toadsworth had a look of understanding on his face. "I don't know if Mario is battling Bowser as we speak, or if he's currently a prisoner that's being held in a dungeon. It's the lack of information that's frustrating."

The two others nodded at my statement as we stayed there in silence. After a while May decided to rest in the Toad House with the other tourists, and bid us farewell. He made sure to tell me to keep in touch with him before he left. With May gone I told Toadsworth that he could stay with me at my house. "It will be better for you to stay there in case any enemies swarm the town. The entrance to our warp pipe is fairly unknown to any outsiders, so it would be the safest place for you right now." Toadsworth agreed to that so we headed towards my house at a slow pace.

That brings us back to now. I let Toadsworth sleep in my bottom bunk since it would be easier for him, and I took Mario's for the night. It was easier than making up our guest room yesterday as we were too exhausted from our fruitless search for information. I climbed down the ladder before going to the restroom. After my shower I went outside to grab the daily newspaper, and flipped it open once I was seated at the kitchen table. The first article contained information regarding yesterday's kidnapping. A picture of a gaping hole in the ground was the most prominent feature on the page.

' **There is breaking news for today! Princess Peach Toadstool was once again kidnapped in the middle of the day yesterday. From what our witnesses have told us, the castle was literally lifted into the sky by another larger castle that was underneath the ground! Even worse is that there were dozens of innocent bystanders that were inside the castle as the princess was hosting a party at the time of the kidnapping. Both of the Mario brothers attended this event, and it's sad to say that while Luigi Mario escaped the castle, his brother Mario Mario is currently missing in action. As of now nobody knows how we're going to find the missing castle that contains our fair ruler and our hero. We'll update our readers on the latest news regarding this touchy subject as soon as possible.'**

The next article talked about the damage to Toad Town and featured comments from the locals that spoke of the incident. **'The incident appeared to happen in a very short time. Hardly a minute passed before the castle was floating far away from its place in the ground. The ground that surrounded the castle has been ripped out and thrown about the area. Rocks and large amounts of dirt are scattered about and there is a large hole where the castle used to sit. Luckily the route to Shooting Star Summit was left untouched so visitors can safely travel to and from it with ease. Other places weren't so lucky. Large branches and mounds of dirt have fallen throughout Toad Town. Thankfully there weren't any injuries, but a few large branches have blocked off the route to the south side of town. Unfortunately it could be a while before the area is clear.**

Statements were made further down in the article. **'One of the witnesses claimed to see a statue of the infamous Bowser on the side of the larger castle that lifted the royal castle into the sky. Another anonymous witness said that, "It happened so fast… One moment everything was fine, but then the ground began to shake… The next thing we knew the castle burst from the ground and flew off into the sky!"**

I set the paper down after I flicked through the rest of the news and saw nothing relevant to my situation. I saw that Toadsworth was beginning to wake up from his sleep, so I began to prepare some pancakes for both of us. He slowly sat himself in a chair at the table after making a stop at the bathroom. I set down a cup of vanilla flavored cappuccino in front of him and laughed when he chugged it down right away. _"He is definitely NOT a morning person then."_ I made another cup for both of us and smirked at his slow sips at the hot liquid. _"He probably burned himself the last time."_ We finished off our lightly buttered pancakes and set off to the outside world.

 **Guest Review Answers** **:**

- **Angel** **:** I'm glad that you are enjoying my story. I will continue to add chapters for it since I don't plan on quitting for any of mine.

- **DarkShadow** **:** As I said to Angel I will be updating new chapters for this story. However, I don't know how often I'll be getting around to it.


	4. Chapter 4: Searching For Info

Chapter 4: Searching For Info

 **Disclaimer:** Same as before.

After we left my house Toadsworth and I spent most of our time in our yard brainstorming ideas of how to gain more information. We knew that word of mouth alone wouldn't produce solid results and would take too much time anyways. The only valid idea that came to mind would be to contact people via mail. The Paratroopa Delivery Service is fairly fast in their deliveries and with actual writing on paper we can't mix up our information. With that agreed on, I set off to the post office and started writing some letters to my pals.

I sent them off before wandering the town to assess the damage done from yesterday. There were only a few small trees that were knocked down in this area. I walked south from here and eventually found the large tree that blocked the entire road. _"This is the worst place for the tree to have landed. The harbor and the train station are blocked off from regular traffic so tourism and trading will be greatly reduced for a while. There's also the problem of the citizens not being able to return to their homes. Even worse is that the sole grocery store is north of there, so the people that are trapped on the south side are going to have to ration their food until it's cleared."_

With my initial inspection complete I walked north again and continued onward towards Merlon's house. His ever spinning roof soon met my sight as I walked up to his door. I lifted my left hand to move the panel, but before I could reach it the door was suddenly pulled open. I started to fall backwards until a hand grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me inside. As I steadied myself in his home, Merlon took his time checking me for any injuries.

He was twirling a finger through his own large mustache that protruded from his cloak as he did so. I was flattered that he was so worried about me, but confused as to why he needed to frantically pull me into his home. "Are you okay Luigi?! I didn't hear from you after the disaster of a party and worried that something happened to you. Why couldn't my visions have shown me that the situation would grow this dangerous beforehand?"

"I'm okay Merlon, so don't worry. Me, Toadsworth, and eleven other people were able to escape the castle before it took off. The stress of the event just exhausted me so much that I forgot to check in with you."

"Well I can understand that. It must have been a horrible experience to witness firsthand…" I agreed with him wholeheartedly before speaking up. "I just wonder what happened to Mario… I didn't see him attend the party, but the newspaper from this morning said that he definitely went there. Plus there are plenty of people from around the kingdom that are trapped up there with him." I looked up at Merlon to see what he thought of this.

"There is nothing that we can do for them as of yet, Luigi. I doubt anything can fly as high as that castle somehow did, and even if something could, we don't know where they went." I nodded in agreement, but it didn't help me to feel any better about how things have been going. We bid our goodbyes after chatting for a while longer, and I solemnly made my way back to my house. With nothing else left for me to accomplish I made lunch, and later supper, for the both of us. After we ate I readied our guest bedroom for Toadsworth before falling into a fitful slumber in my own bed.

The next morning seemed unreal. It almost felt like the kidnapping never happened until I saw Mario's empty bed and remembered that Toadsworth was in another room. The biggest difference in this kidnapping was that I didn't know where to go if I wanted to help rescue everyone. It was always different the other times. We always knew which land to go to and how to get closer to our goal. This time I have no clue on where to start. The lack of information is a dramatic difference in how we usually operate and I don't know how to deal with that yet.

I made breakfast for the both of us again before walking outside to grab the daily mail. I jogged back inside to peruse the newspaper and was left disappointed. Nothing new was given to the public regarding the kidnapping. There were only statements that basically stated old information as well as guesses as to what could have happened to the kidnapped people of the Mushroom Kingdom. I threw the paper to the table in my frustration before crumpling it into a ball. Green flames began to lick at the paper before I caught myself and put a stop to it. I threw the singed paper away after that, and was grateful that Toadsworth wasn't awake to see my slip up. I didn't want to worry him after all.

I was bursting with nerves by the time that the second paratroopa dropped off his stash of mail for me. I was hoping for some news regarding any odd happenings in the areas that my friends lived in, but I knew not to get my hopes up. I knew that it would take more than a day to get a reply to most of my letters. The only people close enough to reply right away would've been Goompa and Goompapa that live west of us. As I opened the mailbox I was delighted to see a few letters lying inside.

I quickly snagged them and plopped down into my seat once I ran into the house. "Shit!" In my haste I must've surprised Toadsworth enough for him to spill his precious cappuccino onto his hand. I knew that he'd be pretty pissed, but I couldn't help smirking in response to his swear. He immediately looked at me and glared at my unapologetic expression. I looked back at him without dropping my smirk and it became a full on contest to see who would back down first.

A whole thirty seconds passed before I broke character and proceeded to laugh my ass off at our silly game. He joined in soon after which pleased me to no end. _"It's good to have a laugh every now and then."_ Eventually Toadsworth stood up to walk over to the kitchen sink. This officially ended the contest, so I spread the letters in front of me and covered up my laugh at the slight hiss that Toadsworth made upon contact with the cold water.

I wiped my eyes of the tears that began to form from laughing so hard and went back to business. I turned my attention to the three letters that are lying innocently before me. _"One of these letters could actually help me to rescue my brother, the princess, and the other hostages in the castle."_

With that thought in mind I took the first letter that I placed on the left of the table. I quickly ripped open the top and pulled out the piece of paper that sat inside. Sadly the thing that awaited me wasn't what I was hoping for. The letter only contained coupons to the item shops that are located throughout the kingdom. "Well that wasn't what I was looking for. I guess they're still useful for later." I pocketed the coupons before picking up the letter on my right.

It looked no different than the first one I picked up, but that didn't discourage me one bit. I tore off the top of the envelope and plucked the second sheet out. **'Hello Luigi. Long time no see! (This is Goompapa who's writing by the way.) Thanks for checking up on us after the latest disaster has struck the kingdom. While I can safely say that my family isn't injured, the same can't be said about our gateway. The only path to Toad Town is through that blasted gate, and it has been irritating me for quite too long now. While it is indeed standing up it's jammed to the point that I can't open it fully. The earthquakes really did a number on the old thing. Aside from the gate I haven't been able to tell if anything new has happened since I told my family to stay home for the time being. I didn't know if it was safe to venture out yesterday, but I thought the kids could play in the grove in our backyard today at least.'**

A smudge was placed on the page after that almost as if Goompapa was briefly distracted. The next paragraph looked rushed as if he was pressed for time. **'It seems like my daughter might have found something or someone in the grove that's hurt. She spoke in such a rush before bolting back outside. I'll be sure to update you on any other news if I get any. P.S. Goompa is a little mad that you didn't come with us to go fishing yesterday. The next time you drop on by be sure to spend some time with the old goomba. A little cake will be sure to improve his mood. Hope to see you soon. -Goompapa.'**

I lightly laughed at the fact that he was not so subtly telling me to bake some cake for them. "I wonder who the goomba family found in the grove. The surrounding area is too thick for people to travel through normally, so the only way in would be through their gates. But one is busted and the other one is always locked." At this point Toadsworth was back in his seat and drinking the rest of the cappuccino that he didn't spill onto his hand. He just shook his head at my statement and seemed as baffled as I was.

I set the second letter aside so that I could put it in a safe place for later. Then I slit the last letter open and pulled out the multiple sheets of paper. They surprisingly held the notes for some new recipes that I requested from Tayce T. a few days ago. "Well that was anticlimactic. I was hoping for some more information, but I'll take what I can get."

With the letters sorted I put my stuff away and grabbed the materials that I'd need to make a chocolate cake. "It looks like I'll be visiting the goomba family today Toadsworth. I think I'll need to bring a cake to get back on Goompa's good side." Toadsworth only smiled before responding. "Did you miss the get together?" I nodded before saying, "Yeah, I was at Peach's party at the time, but I wrote him a letter to tell them that I was sorry that I couldn't come." With my explanation in place I set out to create a delicious cake for Goompa and his family.


	5. Chapter 5: Time To Pay The Toll

Chapter 5: Time to pay the toll

 **Disclaimer:** Same as before.

I set off for the Goomba family's house not long after I finished making them a cake. _"The chocolate dessert will hopefully be enough to stem Goompa's short temper."_ Before I left I made sure to pick up some battle items in the case that Bowser's goons are on the prowl. _"I should be careful since I'm travelling alone not too long after the kidnapping. You never know if something could happen."_

I popped out of our hidden warp pipe and peeked out of the large bushes that surrounded it on all sides. I left my cover once I was sure that no one was around. With no one in sight I continued on my way by taking the path to my right. Moments later I was passed the large entryway of Toad Town and started climbing up the natural steps of the trail. The cake was secured in a box that I placed in my dark green backpack, so I was ready for a fight if it came to that.

The journey to their home was quiet. Not a soul was walking along the trail that was usually teeming with people. The local toads from Toad Town as well as many travelers like to take hikes along this path because of the scenery. Many kinds of trees as well as flora grow throughout the area. There is also a river that flows further down the trail that lies in a beautiful, open area. Picnics are very common to see around there because of that. So it was unusual for this normally frequented place to be devoid of any travelers at this time of year. _"Well it could be that no one feels like hiking with the recent kidnapping, but knowing my luck there are some minions of the latest bad guy on this path."_

Ten minutes later and I found out that my hunch was right. There were a few goombas and a koopa spread throughout the narrow path, and they didn't look very friendly. I was positive that they were henchmen because of two reasons. One was that they couldn't have been strolling along the path without provisions unless they were patrolling the place. The second was that they appeared to be harassing a couple of toads that were wearing backpacks and looked to be hiking along the path themselves.

The first toad that I noticed had dark blue spots, light brown hair, and was down on the ground. He was noticeably older than the second toad and his face was scrunched up to keep from crying out. He was clutching his leg and looked to be in obvious pain from the way that he was shaking. The second toad was just a kid that had sky blue spots and her dark brown hair in low pigtails. Although she was smaller than her enemies she stood tall and protectively in front of the other toad with her arms out. I could see her visibly shaking, not from pain, but from fear of what could happen next.

" _Well, it looks like my quiet walk is over."_ I ran closer to where the shakedown was happening and shouted to take their attention off of the victims. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" I succeeded in placing the attention on myself and continued to jog closer to the enemies. By the time that I was close enough the goombas formed a line and had the red-shelled koopa with triangular black sunglasses in the middle. This confirmed that he was the leader of their squadron.

"I should question you on why you're here green cap. This is Bowser's turf now! King Goomba was put in charge of this lovely area and his first decree was to instate a toll booth. We of course didn't have enough time to create the perfect booth before these clods came waltzing in like they owned the place. To make up for their error we simply asked them for their payment. They decided to be difficult, so here we are."

The younger toad behind the line chimed in afterwards. "Asked?! You never asked us for anything! You just ran out of the bushes and hurt my brother!" The minions all turned around and one of the goombas chimed in. "Shut up brat. Know your place!" She flinched as he began to turn around and started walking towards her.

I sighed and muttered, "Well it's now or never," before charging my fire. A green flame engulfed my right hand as I aimed it at the hostile goomba. With all of them distracted already I blasted him with my fireball and watched him tumble to the ground with a smirk. The rest of the group whipped their heads around to focus on me, and didn't pay any attention to their fallen comrade. "So, it looks like I have your attention now. Good." My smirk never let up as the remaining koopa and goombas gained a battle stance.

They were all either new to their job or too enraged to care about formations as they all launched themselves towards me. I laughed at their strategy and quickly rifled through my pockets. With my prize in hand I lifted it to the sky and watched as it disappeared to form a red flower that bloomed immediately from the ground. Large fireballs burst out of the red flower and hit all five remaining opponents before turning to ash and blowing away in the wind. The goombas and koopa were all left on the ground just as singed as the first goomba that I attacked.

"Wow that was a little too easy." I slowly walked closer to the downed minions and lightly pushed on the koopa with my boot. "I don't think that they're getting up anytime soon." My smirk turned into a small smile as I turned my attention towards the frightened toads. "I won't be stupid and ask if you both are okay, since it's obvious that you're not. Do you think that you could you tell me what happened here?"

The older toad with the dark blue spots answered me rather than his little sister. "Yeah, my name's Taylor. I was just taking my sister Belle on a walk like we always do when we were ambushed. The koopa came out of the brush and spun into my legs. The force of the blow knocked me down, and I think I sprained my leg. That's when the rest of the gang came in. I stumbled when I tried to get up to grab my sister and run before a goomba head butted me to the ground again." He flinched as he tried to sit up to talk to me. I stopped him from moving further before speaking.

"Could I see your leg then? I need to see how bad it is." He nodded and took his hand off of his visibly bleeding leg. "I don't think that's sprained Taylor." He began to smile in relief before I continued. "I'm no doctor, but that leg looks broken to me." Taylor's relieved smile turned into a frown after he released a stressed sigh. "And where did you get head butted?"

Instead of answering me vocally he lifted up his blue t-shirt to show me. Dark bruises were beginning to form all along his stomach and they didn't look like they'd go away anytime soon. "Okay you're in worse condition than I thought. It's a good thing that I came prepared for this little excursion." I took off my backpack and opened the biggest pocket as I sat down in front of him. I had gauze inside as well as medical items that I could use as a makeshift medication along with my boxed up cake.

I picked up a roll of gauze and a bottle of healing salve and set to work. I took off my gloves and put some healing salve on a large bandage before gently pressing it against his broken leg. Then I held it in place by securing the gauze around the bandaged wound. The salve was made from healing mushrooms so there was no chance for an infection to occur. With that done I put the items away and made sure it was on correctly.

With my inspection complete I slung my backpack back into place. Then I slid my left hand underneath his back while my right hand went underneath his legs. I looked at him to see if this was okay and proceeded when he said to. I then slowly picked him up and turned to his sister. I motioned for her to start walking back the way I came from before speaking. "Did you both come from Toad Town then?" She nodded and said, "Yeah we live there. Do you live close by too?"

"Yeah I live close to Toad Town. I even live with my older brother like you do." She smiled and said, "That's awesome! So do you fight a lot mister? You were pretty cool out there before…" Her brother spoke up at that statement. "Yeah, you were calm throughout the whole fight, and you didn't get a scratch on you."

I let out a laugh at the quick change of topic. "Well I'm not a newbie when it comes to fighting, but my bro is the one who usually seeks out a battle. You don't want to get in his way when he has his mind set on something." My laughter trailed off as I thought about my brother's stubborn ways. We walked in a comfortable silence for the next fifteen minutes until we reached the hill that formed natural steps.

"Belle I'm going to walk a bit slower down this hill to not jostle Taylor as much, so you can go ahead if you want." She shook her head and replied, "Nah, I'll stick by you guys in case you need me to help out." I smiled and thanked her before slowly making my way down the dirt steps. We made it to the bottom a few minutes later and continued on towards the entrance to Toad Town. It came into sight soon after which made Belle laugh in happiness and run slightly ahead of me and Taylor.

I raised my voice slightly so that she could hear me. "Now don't run off too far Belle. We need to go to the Toad House rather than your home in order to help your brother." She sheepishly twirled her right pigtail at that and slowed down to walk at my side. "Sorry mister. I forgot that we were going there first."

I smiled to reassure her. "That's alright Belle. Now it's not much farther from here." We arrived at the Toad House a few minutes later. Belle held the door open for us without either of us asking, and then I walked in to see if there was a bed for Taylor to rest in. The place was packed, but thankfully the head toad said there was an available bed for him.

I gently set Taylor down on top of the bed after Belle pulled the covers down for him. He was resting against the headboard with a tired look on his face. "Thank you so much mister. Without your help I don't know what would have happened to us." Taylor's eyes began to water from the different emotions that were coursing through him. He was relieved that they made it back without his sister getting hurt. He was also scared for what might have occurred if this guy hadn't rescued them. The stress of the event finally caught up to him, and he was happy that he was at least in a safe place when it happened.

"I need to know your name sir. You saved me and my sister from further harm, and I'm very thankful for that." Belle nodded vigorously from her spot on Taylor's bed. Her pigtails flew around comically as she sat next to him on the bed. I rubbed the back of my head in my embarrassment. "Oh. My name's Luigi. I probably should have told you that when you told me your names." They both laughed at that and said that it was fine with them.

"Is this your first time in a Toad House?" They nodded so I began to tell them about how they work. "So now that you're in bed I'm guessing that you both are feeling the sleeping spell?" Taylor looked like he was nodding off while Belle started to look a bit tired now. They both slowly nodded at that.

"Well the princess made these places with healing and safety in mind. She made it so that sleeping and healing spells are on the medical beds of this House to promote healing, and she also put certain toads in charge of each House that know the spells. They keep watch of the House, as well as replace the spells once they wear off. This is to make sure that everyone is safe, and their valuables are safe as well. Once you fall asleep the healing spell will take hold, but the sleeping spell will wear off after five hours. You sleep normally after that time is up and heal until you fully wake up. Oh, and the healing beds have red covers and pillowcases, while the regular beds have blue ones."

"If you have any questions you can ask a Medic toad about them once you wake up, okay? Like the one we talked to when we first came in here." They agreed to that and snuggled deeper into the pillows. I told them that I would come back once five hours passed and tucked the covers over Belle and Taylor after they lay down. Then I pulled the curtain to surround their bed and walked out of the House. I still had to visit Goompa and Goompapa after all.


	6. Chapter 6: Set Backs

Chapter Six: Set Backs

I set back on the trail again with more caution than the first time. My provisions were still with me along with my backpack in the case that Bowser's goons were here on the prowl. I had mixed emotions when I arrived at the same place that I helped the two toads. The burnt enemies were no longer in sight, and that could mean either good or bad things for me later. It could mean that King Goomba will stop harassing the visitors to this area, but that's not likely.

" _He'll probably get upset like the usual baddies and send out more minions to attack me. That is, if they see me again anyways."_ I ran into the occasional enemies here and there until I made it out into an open area. I calmly walked through the beautiful area, and I was surprised that no one else was around, enemy or otherwise. The answer to that question was soon answered as I stopped in front of a steep cliff. A giant chasm lies before me where a sturdy bridge once stood.

"This complicates things a bit." I muttered to myself in irritation before sitting down on a nearby rock. I contemplated on what this could mean as I took a break from my traveling. _"Goompapa never mentioned that the bridge was down."_ I glanced over at the other side of the chasm and spotted a stone building that sported a tall tower sitting on the other side. _"He never mentioned anything about that either. He did say that he hasn't been outside his yard as of yet, so it's likely a recent development. I'm not sure how anyone could construct a stone building in such a short time though."_

I sat on the rock for around five minutes before I began to make my way back home. It was too early for me to check on Taylor and Belle yet, and I wanted to get some answers on a few things. I arrived in front of my hidden warp pipe, and easily traveled through the dense bushes that surrounded it. I noticed Toadsworth was sitting on the porch as I popped out of the pipe. I waved at him as I came closer to the house.

"I'm guessing that your travels didn't run as smoothly as you planned?" I was about to ask him how he knew, but he answered before I could speak. "You're body language says it all Luigi. You look tense, your hands are still slightly clenched together as if in anger, and you have a pinched look on your face. So what exactly happened out there?"

I sighed and began to explain what happened today. "I never even made it to Goompa's house with all that happened so far. I ran into some of Bowser's underlings early on when I saw that they were attacking two toads on the path. They were actually working for some guy called King Goomba and said that this was their 'turf' now. Anyways, I beat up the bad guys and safely escorted the toads back to the Toad House. The second time I went on the trail I made it to the river before I had to turn back. The bridge was completely gone so I had no way of crossing the chasm."

"Well that certainly poses a problem. How is the goomba family going to be able to buy food if the path is completely cut off?" I shook my head and told him, "Yeah, it's not like they can last on Goomnuts forever. There has to be some way of reaching them…" We both decided to continue discussing the issues surrounding the kingdom in the kitchen since it was about time to eat lunch.

It was around three in the afternoon when I set off to meet the two toads in the Toad House like I promised. I entered the building, waved at the Medic toad as a greeting, and slipped inside the curtained off area that surrounded their bed. I saw that Belle looked to be almost fully awake, while Taylor still seemed a little out of it. He perked up a lot more once he noticed that I got here. "Hey Luigi." Taylor began to sit up in the bed, and thankfully it looked like it didn't hurt him as much as before.

"Hey you two. How are you both feeling?" Belle sprang up into a seated position before she began speaking. "I feel fine, but I'm worried about my brother. I don't know if the bed healed him all the way, and we still need to get some food…" She trailed off at the end, as if she was thinking about something that was troubling her.

"You were both looking for food in the woods?" I tilted my head as I spoke the question, and I noticed that Taylor looked off to the side in what looked to be embarrassment. He answered my question rather than his sister. "Yeah, we ran out of food at our house yesterday so we were hoping the goomba family would be willing to give us some goomnuts. They have plenty of goomnut trees, and they let us have some a while back, so I thought it was worth a shot."

"Why would you need to get food from someone…? Oh…" Taylor grimaced at my statement while Belle frowned and looked to the floor. She spoke up again to explain what Taylor was getting to. "Our Daddy went to the party a few days ago and didn't come back." Taylor chimed in to say, "He was one of the cooks for the event, so he had to be there. We figure that he was kidnapped along with the rest of the staff at the castle. Honestly, we were doing okay on our own until recently."

"I tried to ration our food to last us a few days. We actually planned on shopping for food two days ago, but all of this crap had to happen before we could. Now we don't have any food left, and any money that we have is impossible to access. Our dad usually keeps a decent amount of coins with him, and our savings requires a key to open the safe. If we had the key then we wouldn't be in this mess, but our dad keeps it on him for safe keeping as well."

He looked to the ground and clenched his fists. "If I had just listened to you earlier, then I wouldn't have put you in danger." Belle looked up at her brother and gained a fire in her eyes. "Don't blame yourself for what those jerks did! Your idea was good and you know that! If I was just a little older, then maybe I could've actually helped you back there…"

He hugged Belle tightly to him after that and said, "No, you did good sis. I'm the one that needs to be better. I should've listened to you when you said to ask someone to walk with us. It's not safe to go out on our own, but I didn't think that there would have been people patrolling the area so soon. We didn't even have any battle items to bring with us. I was just so desperate to get some food and not resort to stealing… "

They sat on the bed and held each other in silence for a while. I didn't want to interrupt their moment, so I sat at the edge of their bed and remained quiet until they were more emotionally stable. After a short time of waiting they broke apart and sat side by side again, but kept an arm around each other for comfort. "So now I know your story. I'm sorry that you both went through that. I'm also sad to say that you wouldn't have been able to reach the goomba family even if you made it to the river."

They both frowned, but didn't interrupt my explanation. "I was also trying to reach their house, so I attempted to go there again after I escorted the two of you here. Once I reached the river I was disappointed to find out that the bridge was gone. I don't have a clue as to how it mysteriously vanished, but that doesn't bode well if they can't make it back here to buy food and other essentials." The siblings looked surprised at my speech for a moment before Taylor began to look depressed.

"So all of that was for nothing… I put both of us in danger and nothing could've even come from it?!" He slammed his fist onto the covers in front of him before he hugged his knees to his chest. He laid his head upon his knees with a ragged sigh while Belle's eyes became misty, most likely from stress. "Well it wasn't exactly all for nothing now…"

They looked up at my statement in confusion. Taylor softly asked, "How so?" I grinned and said, "Well you met me. Now your life is complete." Belle snickered while Taylor cracked a smile. "On a more serious note, meeting me did and will help you." They both perked up as I continued to speak. "I saved you from Bowser's, or should I say King Goomba's, thugs earlier. Then I took you back here to heal, and now I'm going to treat you both to some food."

Their eyes practically glittered with their happiness as they asked if I was kidding. "No I'm not kidding. I would never lie about giving food to people who are starving. Now are you both ready to leave this Toad House?" They both nodded vigorously as grins broke out on their faces.

 **Author Note** **:** Yes! I finally uploaded a new chapter for this story. It has been a while now, hasn't it? I decided to at least start on a chapter in the evening yesterday, which led to me finishing it all early this morning. I didn't actually plan on creating such a detailed back story for Taylor and Belle, but it just happened. I'm really happy with the way it turned out now.


	7. Chapter 7: Introductions

Chapter 7: Introductions

The three of us slowly walked out of the Toad House in a fairly good mood. Taylor was mostly healed and well enough to leave his bed. He was able to stand up just fine, but when it came to walking he had a slight limp. This led to me becoming a living cane on his left side while Belle was holding Taylor's hand and staying on his right. I led us through town and back towards the entrance before they both began to gain confused expressions on their faces.

"Where are we going Luigi? How is there food for us all outside of Toad Town?" Belle spoke up after her brother and said, "Yeah that doesn't seem right. Are we going the right way still?" Taylor stopped walking which forced Belle and me to come to a stop as well.

I sheepishly answered with a, "Yep. We're definitely going the right way. My house isn't far from here. In fact we're almost in front of the entrance." Their confused expressions didn't waver from my explanation. Taylor spoke up again and said, "How are we close to it when the house over there is a makeshift library that only one guy lives in?"

"We need to walk to the cluster of bushes over there so we can get to my house. You'll see what I mean in a minute." They both didn't seem to accept my unclear answer, and I couldn't blame them for it. I doubt that many people have their houses in such a remote area like mine is. Nevertheless, we eventually stopped in front of the mass of plants that covered the warp pipe.

I told Belle and Taylor to go in first once I looked around and didn't see anyone in the area. Then I slipped inside the cluster of bushes and met them in the center. "Do you see what I mean now? This pipe leads to my home. We had it hidden from view so that Bowser and his minions wouldn't be able to find out where we live. The bushes grew tall enough where they cover the entrance from above, which is very helpful. Although, because of that we have to trim the branches around the pipe in order to keep it clear enough to travel to and from freely."

They absently nodded their heads before Belle gained an excited look on her face. She giggled and said, "So you live in a secret base then? That's so cool! It's kind of like the game club pipe!" She immediately hopped on top of the pipe after speaking and dropped inside. Taylor was quiet for a moment, shrugged, and jumped onto the pipe. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't wander off then." He gave a short sigh before dropping into the warp pipe as well.

I followed the toads through the pipe and popped out shortly after. What greeted my sight was Belle marveling over the property. She was racing around the lawn in her haste to explore the yard. Meanwhile Taylor was watching her from the porch with a look of amusement. "Is she usually this excited when going to new places?"

Taylor smirked at that. "Yeah she's always been like this. It's a good thing that your yard is enclosed. Especially since I have a bad leg right now. I don't have to worry about her running off too far." I agreed with him and called out for Belle to come to the porch. She sprinted her way back towards us, and began bouncing in place in her excitement to see the house from the inside.

As I walked through the front door I noticed that Toadsworth was cleaning some dishes at the kitchen sink. He turned around to greet me and I saw his eyes widen a bit in surprise. "You're back sooner than I thought, and I see we have some guests." I nodded and replied saying, "Yup. These are the two toads that I found on the trail to Goompa's house. They haven't had any contact with their dad since the mass kidnapping."

Belle chose that moment to speak up. "We were hoping that the Goomba family could spare us some Goomnuts. We didn't get too far though…" Toadsworth's body tensed up at her statement. Taylor continued saying, "Luckily Luigi saved us from King Goomba's thugs earlier. I don't know what would have happened if Belle got hurt because of me."

Toadsworth let out a loud sigh as he shook his head. "It seems as though I've failed to put the proper policies into place after the latest disaster. I was too focused on getting information, and didn't think about the needs of Toad Town's citizens. There are usually other aides to remind me of my duties, but that's no excuse for my recent behavior." He began to pace as he continued saying, "I should have started, at the very least, to put that into motion…" One moment he was pacing, and in the next Toadsworth suddenly ran out of the front door without a word of where he intended to go.

In the sudden silence I decided to address the two toads. "Well there goes Toadsworth. He's an aid and the top caretaker of Princess Toadstool. It looks like he has important work to do, so I'll just start preparing an early supper for all of us. The two siblings nodded happily at my decision and promptly sat down at the kitchen table to watch as I made them their first meal of the day. I set out a small bowl of washed purple grapes for them to snack on, as well as two glasses of water, before starting on my task.


End file.
